Regular Condoms Too Small for Ugandan Men

In the small African country of Uganda, politicians, police and health workers have been flooded with complaints from Ugandan men of all ages. Their complaint is that the condoms that are available to them are simply too small for their penises.

This is a critical issue since Uganda has been faced with a difficult battle against HIV and AIDS for the past few decades. Since the mid 2000’s, Uganda had seen a steady decline in HIV cases. However, in recent years, they have seen HIV skyrocket, with close to 80,000 Ugandans dying of HIV/AIDS in each of the last few years. The disease has seen a resurgence and some believe the lack of correctly sized condom availability may have something to do with the rise in cases.

At one point in 1992, nearly 1 in every 5 people in Uganda were HIV positive. The rate in 2005 was just over 6 percent, which is a significant improvement. In 2012, the rate had increased to over 7 percent and seems to be rising each year.

The initial success of a nationwide campaign called “ABC”, which stands for “Abstinence, Be Faithful , Condom” is said to be the main reason for the falling rates during the mid-1990’s and 2000’s.

The country currently estimates that about 1.8 million people have HIV in Uganda today. With such a high rate of HIV cases, it’s no wonder that Uganda is home to millions of orphans whose parents have died of HIV/AIDS.

Since condoms and the education of their proper use is a critical component in the fight against HIV/AIDS in Uganda, many are warning that the lack of larger condom sizes available in the country is a big step backward for Uganda’s fight against the disease.

Uganda’s parliamentary committee for HIV/AIDS in the country recently completed a tour of some of the areas that are most ravaged by the disease. Through talking to people with the disease, as well as health care workers and families, the committee concluded that most Ugandan men simply have larger penises than those of many other countries. They concluded that Ugandan men had penises that were either too long or too large in girth to fit inside the available condoms. Typical condoms simply aren’t a good option, as they will invariably burst or slip off more easily during sex, destroying their effectiveness against HIV and AIDS.

Politicians have said they will push for larger sized condoms to be distributed throughout the country to help alleviate the problem.